


In Plain Sight (or How Kahlan Learns to Count Bases)

by shimmeryshine, simplesetgo



Category: Legend of the Seeker
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-10
Updated: 2011-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-18 01:12:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/183337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmeryshine/pseuds/shimmeryshine, https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplesetgo/pseuds/simplesetgo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kahlan has long since accepted that Cara enjoys pushing her boundaries, but it’s rare for her to enjoy being pushed quite this much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Plain Sight (or How Kahlan Learns to Count Bases)

**  
_1st._   
**

The lights blink off with a flick of a switch as Cara slides into her seat next to Kahlan in the back of the crowded lecture hall, pleased to see a couple of empty seats on either side of them. She does not enjoy being asked for missed notes or waking up to people staring at her. As the front lights dim, two hundred sophomores dig into their bags, pulling out notebooks and pens and laptop computers; a sea of students ready to absorb the endless slides of information in the scintillating subject of Intro to Communications.

It is the most boring class Cara has ever taken in her _life_.

“Where were you?” Kahlan whispers as she uncaps her pen, placing it between her lips as she uses her hands to shove her oversized bag underneath her seat.

Cara sits back and stares at her—the PowerPoint has barely even started and she is already distracted, transfixed by the tiny scar over the corner of Kahlan’s mouth and how much she wants to kiss it. She reaches a hand over, grabbing the pen out of her mouth on impulse, and when Kahlan’s lips part slightly in surprise, Cara leans in to press her own against them. They’ve barely touched when she pulls away, and Cara raises her brow when Kahlan looks as if she wants to follow. “Swim meeting ran late,” Cara finally says, and hands back her pen. Kahlan blinks at her, her eyes a little unfocused.

At least she won’t be the only one distracted.

Kahlan takes the pen back too quickly as she tries to force back a rush of something familiar. Pressing the tip to her notebook, she coughs lightly and swings her gaze to scan over the information being presented on the screen. The distance from their seats to the front of the class is far enough that she has to squint to be able to read some of the smaller print clearly, and Kahlan decides that the next time she gets to class before Cara, she’s going to get a seat right in front no matter how much the blonde grumbles about it.

As Kahlan dutifully scribbles word after word in her spiral notebook, Cara sits slouched in her chair, staring idly at the blinking red light of the projector, running her tongue over her bottom lip and glancing back at Kahlan’s own. This happens every single time she is forced to sit through one of these mind-numbing presentations. Just endless minutes spent forcibly restraining herself from reaching over for the brunette sitting next to her. Reaching over to press their elbows together just because she could. Putting a hand on her thigh to see what she would do. Snatching her notebook away and just having her _way_ with her right there in the back of the lecture hall and damning everything else.

She idly taps fingers on her thigh as Kahlan flips over to a new page and the slide changes to one with an embedded video clip. As their somewhat elderly professor attempts to start up the video, the room is suddenly plunged into blackness—his laptop is being not at all cooperative.

It takes Cara exactly three seconds to turn her thoughts to action and take advantage of the darkness. She reaches for Kahlan’s head, slipping a hand behind her neck and pulling her halfway over the arm rest separating them, and Kahlan does not resist her at all. It is a testament to how many times Cara has done this in the dark that she has zero trouble locating Kahlan’s lips even with the complete lack of light. A sharp gasp is all Cara hears as their lips connect, warm and pliant, and Kahlan twists a little in her seat to better meet her.

Her pen drags down her entire sheet of paper as her body responds to Cara’s surprise advance. They’re in a room full of people, but the rush she feels returning is not one of apprehension. It’s dark, after all, and the kiss she pressed on her at the beginning of class left her wanting more.

Finding Kahlan willing seems to make Cara bold enough to slip tongue into her mouth, and Kahlan’s jaw relaxes to allow her. She finds her hand raising to cup the side of Cara’s face, anchoring her in place, giving her something to hold onto as she welcomes Cara’s tongue with her own. Their kiss is quickly devolving into something _entirely_ inappropriate for a public place, yet Kahlan can do nothing but press her lips harder against Cara’s and crack an eye open to be completely sure that the lights are still off.

They are.

Cara gets up onto one knee in her seat in an effort to get closer to Kahlan’s body, bringing her face nearer by the sides of her cheeks. Her palms sweep up, and Kahlan feels fingers tangling in her hair as Cara buries them there. She kisses down at Kahlan, teeth tugging lightly at her bottom lip, and Kahlan grunts softly as Cara laves it with a soothing sweep of her tongue that does nothing but make Kahlan want her to do it again. And again and again.

Her professor is droning about the limits of technology, but all Kahlan can think about is the heat and taste of Cara’s mouth and the way the hand behind her neck tightens when she pushes her own tongue forward. Their lips are crushing together with a near ferocity, and as Cara looses a small noise from deep in her chest, Kahlan can’t help but feel a little victorious. When another follows, a little louder, she instinctively tries to shush Cara, but it proves difficult with Cara sucking on her tongue the way she is.

The sensations rocking Kahlan’s body are making her throb with want in all the right places, and she is quickly losing touch with how absurd it is to be making out with Cara in the back of a lecture hall _in the middle of class_. She has long since accepted that Cara enjoys pushing her boundaries, but it’s rare for her to enjoy being pushed quite this much.

Just as Cara’s hand begins sliding its way from her hair, down her neck and lower, the harsh, blue light of the projector flashes against the back of Kahlan’s eyelids, making her gasp and pull her mouth away. She sits panting, staring at Cara, clutching her pen like it is the only thing keeping her in place.

Someone way down at the end of their row starts whispering loudly to their neighbor, and Kahlan feels an embarrassed blush add itself to the already heated skin of her face. She is somehow sure that everyone in the room knows exactly what she has just been doing. For one terrifying moment, Kahlan thinks Cara isn’t going to sit back down, that she is going to pounce right into her seat to try and kiss her again. Thankfully the look on Kahlan’s face deters her, because she finally slides her leg back to the floor and resumes sitting in her previously slouched position, looking casual and utterly unaffected.

Kahlan splays her fingers against her notebook to steady herself, staring unseeing at the page in front of her until she notices the long gash of a pen mark spanning almost the entire page. She can almost feel Cara smirking beside her as the blonde leans over to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to need to get those notes from you after class,” she says, letting her lips brush against Kahlan’s ear just a little too closely to be accidental.

All Kahlan can do is nod, thinking about a hundred things that have _nothing_ to do with notes.

 **  
_2nd._   
**

The library is as quiet as ever once Cara leaves behind the subdued buzz of the open study room and adjoined coffee shop. Unfortunately, the quietness is accompanied with a certain smell Cara dislikes—that of books. With a small cappuccino in one hand and a sizable black coffee in the other, she threads her way through the first-floor book stacks, surreptitiously stealing sips from the former. The row of study cubicles under the windows eventually reveal a certain brunette in one of them, slouched over the small desk inside. She’s wearing one of Cara’s shirts again—plain white with a rather deep v-neck, the same one she always steals—and while Cara usually expresses disapproval, the way she wears it almost makes her want to just give it to her and be done with it.

Kahlan pushes papers and an open textbook away as Cara slides into the chair next to her, gratefully accepting the offered beverage. “Thanks,” she says, her eyes narrowing as she peers at it, lifting it experimentally. “Did you drink any of mine?”

“No, I have this.” She holds up her own large cup and pointedly takes a sip. “How’s the paper going?”

“Then why did you drink mine? And I need something from the reference stacks on third,” Kahlan sighs, sitting back and staring at the mess in front of them. “Coming?”

“Because it tastes better. And I’m not staying here to study for you.”

“If only you could.”

“If only I would,” Cara corrects, and Kahlan smiles at her as they set off for the elevator.

The ride is short; it’s only two floors and while Cara would have preferred to take the stairs, she finds herself trotting in behind Kahlan anyway. They have it to themselves and settle against the back of the small space, and Kahlan checks her phone and laughs at something as they doors slide closed in front of them.

“What?”

“You do know it’s nearly noon,” Kahlan says, eyeing Cara’s cup doubtfully.

“You do know I need coffee to function in the morning.”

“Cara, it’s a quarter ‘til.”

“Well, you like to keep me up late,” she complains. “I never get enough sleep when I spend nights in your dorm.”

Kahlan just purses her lips.

The reference floor is utterly silent and a little chilly, and as Kahlan browses further into the stacks with slow steps and a tilted head, Cara’s sudden sigh behind her lets her know exactly how bored she is. “You know I didn’t make you come up here,” Kahlan whispers softly, not turning around.

“Why are you whispering? There isn’t anyone else here.”

“Because we don’t _know_ that. Shh.”

“There isn’t,” Cara insists, setting her coffee on the bookshelf beside Kahlan’s. “And don’t shush me.”

“Don’t be so loud and I wouldn’t need—”

She gasps when she feels Cara’s body press into her back, sudden and insistent, and she grabs instinctively at the shelf in front of her. “If I had something else to do with my mouth,” Cara whispers hotly in her ear, her hands settling on Kahlan’s sides, “you wouldn’t need to shush me.”

She knows that informing the blonde that they are in a library will not help matters, so she decides on something more simple.

“ _Cara_.”

It does not come out sounding like the intended protest, at all, and Cara smirks as her hands travel down over the fabric of her shirt, settling rather comfortably on her lower hips to squeeze her waist through her track shorts. She urges Kahlan forward and finds her quite giving, and with a tiny stumble Kahlan’s front is pressed against the bookshelf and her hands are gripping it as if she is afraid of falling. Cara follows her there, trapping her with her own body.

“Oh,” Kahlan whispers, head to the side, like she’s just remembered something important. “Cara, somebody will hear.”

Cara can't help but be amused that, while she is not exactly being subtle, Kahlan has so quickly taken the situation to its end in her thoughts. “Are you afraid you’ll make noises? You do like to moan.” She pulls aside her dark hair to press kisses to her neck as her hands slip under Kahlan’s shirt, up her sides. The brunette seems to be having trouble speaking.

“I do not _moan_ , Cara,” she says at length, and Cara rolls her eyes at the blush in her voice. “And I can be quiet. But.”

All Kahlan can think of is that the heavy volumes she is so pressed against have seen years go by from their silent perches on this shelf, and now they are seeing _her_ with Cara’s hands up her shirt. She promptly closes her eyes, but it’s with some surprise that she finds herself a little more turned on. There is cold metal on her midriff and across her upper chest, and it’s in sharp contrast to the warm weight of the body leaning heavily into her back, breasts below her shoulder blades. “Cara,” she says weakly, knowing that not much can stop the blonde once she got started. “Are you really trying to…somebody could…”

Cara’s lips leave her neck a little wet as her hands slowly work their way up warm skin. “Hear us? But you’re always so very _quiet_ while I fuck you,” she says huskily, fully aware of the fallacy. Kahlan groans softly, and her shirt is riding halfway up her middle when Cara separates them enough to slide both hands from her ribs to her back. She keeps the pressure on, and Kahlan’s firm muscle and smooth skin under her palms are enough to make Cara want to pull her to the floor and not care who lands on top.

When she reaches the bra strap across her back Cara slips her fingers under it, just because she can, before continuing over it up toward her shoulders, and while Kahlan’s shirt might as well be coming off for all the skin revealed, she doesn’t want to push her too far. But when Kahlan sighs, in a manner that might speak of acquiescence, it is everything Cara needs to hear.

Kahlan feels hands fall, slipping around her sides to her front, and she finds herself pressing back against Cara’s body slightly to allow her. She tries not to think too hard as her forehead presses to the bindings in front of her. All in all this is not wise; she is exposed, half undressed by Cara in the middle of the library, but Cara’s hands are sure and Kahlan’s body is always equally sure of its response to them. It doesn’t matter where Cara touches her but if it is hidden skin, secret skin, it belongs to the blonde even more, and Kahlan’s body responds with heat in certain places, the tightening of some muscles and the loosening of others.

“If somebody comes you’ll stop,” Kahlan informs her softly, shifting her backside into its comfortable home against Cara’s groin.

“Maybe.” Cara knows she has her; she’s reaching around Kahlan’s body to cup breasts over her bra, possessively with wide palms, and her kiss to Kahlan’s neck is _hard_ in a way that has Kahlan tilting her head back. One hand settles spread over her belly, but it’s when the other starts to dip lower, fingers teasing their way into the front of her shorts, that Kahlan tries to turn around. Cara looses a noise of disapproval and reluctantly loosens her hold. “Are you trying to escape?”

“No,” Kahlan whispers, craning her neck to the side. “I just want to look at you...while you.”

Cara growls softly as Kahlan turns in her arms, and when she sees the want written in Kahlan’s eyes, in the way her lips are parted, she slips a hand down between her legs, cupping her sex over her shorts. All she can think about is kneeling between her legs, pulling those shorts down, just a little, and tasting the heat she feels there with her tongue. But for now, she presses Kahlan firmly back against the shelves to give her a thigh between her legs, and she swallows the resulting small noises from Kahlan’s mouth before returning to her attentions elsewhere. Hot, open-mouthed kisses to the column of her throat always make Kahlan pliant, and it shows now in the way she widens her stance a little to accept the offer, murmuring her name so softly Cara can barely hear it.

Kahlan feels her nip at the skin of her neck with lips and teeth, and the tingling sensation runs down her side to mix with aching pressure between her legs, making her hips jerk forward a little, of their own accord, against the firm muscle there. She takes her lower lip into her mouth as Cara hisses against her neck through her teeth, biting down a little, and then a hot tongue is soothing the spot and she finds her arm wrapped around Cara’s back and her fist clutching a handful of the blonde’s shirt.

Kahlan’s rampant arousal seems to seep into Cara’s skin, gathering between her own thighs in a rush. She grabs at the shelf behind Kahlan and lifts her shirt back up, exposing her front to the cooler air, and the brunette again seems on the verge of protest. Cara just kisses her again, long enough to ensure that Kahlan is once again distracted, buying herself that much more time. Enough time to slide her palm under Kahlan’s tight bra, to cup a full breast and slip the hardened peak there between her fingers, reveling in the way her chest is heaving out ever deeper lungfuls of air. Her hips have begun rocking motions, gently but insistently, against Cara’s thigh, and Cara knows that they both desperately wish there was far less clothing in the way. She wants to feel more than a vague heat on her skin.

Kahlan raises one leg higher along the outside of Cara’s hip, opening herself up just enough for Cara’s thigh to press all the way back to the bookshelf behind her, supporting almost her entire body weight at the apex between her legs. The pressure there is intoxicatingly specific, making her want to clamp down on Cara’s leg to both increase and release the intense tension coiling low in her belly. Cara doesn’t give her much of an option as she pushes up with her leg, tensing in such a way that Kahlan feels like she’s being stroked with fire. Her instinct to _rub_ takes precedence over any other flight reflex pinging around in her brain, and she uses the shelf at her back as leverage to bear down on Cara’s leg more forcefully than she had dared to before. They lock eyes as Kahlan rotates her hips sharply, the friction so perfect that she can barely hold eye contact for more than a few seconds.

Cara runs a supportive hand under Kahlan’s bare thigh, encouraging her movements as goosebumps sprout up beneath her fingertips. Her open mouth connects with Kahlan’s ear as her nose buries itself in Kahlan’s hair, smelling shampoo and _girl_. “Are you cold?” she murmurs, tracing circular patterns around Kahlan’s goosebumps. “Or are these for me?”

At Cara’s words, Kahlan’s hand slips on the shelf she’s been leaning against, and she gasps as half a collection of books nearly spill at her feet. “Cara, oh,” she groans. “We can’t.”

She hates the words as they leave her, but what’s done is done. Cara growls, this time in clear discontent, as she palms her breast, twisting the nipple hard enough to draw a gasp. She can’t tell if it is retribution or a promise.

“You’re close,” Cara insists, moving her thigh in such a way that has Kahlan trying to squeeze her legs, needy and desperate. “Let me just…”

Her hand drifts south again, and while Kahlan knows Cara’s fingers would come up slick, she cannot think of a more mortifying experience than being shoved against a bookshelf and tipped over the edge of a powerful orgasm while her eyes find those of a stranger walking past.

Cara’s wrist is firmly arrested before it can get very far, and when she reluctantly removes her leg, stepping back, she easily notices how Kahlan seems to miss it, her gaze immediately dropping there and her expression openly wistful. “Your ability to torture yourself amazes me,” Cara sighs.

It is a short and silent wait for the elevator which Kahlan spends smoothing her hair and straightening her shirt, and she bites her lip when their Intro to Communications professor steps out of the opening doors in a hurry, quickly walking past without giving them a second glance. Kahlan still can’t help feeling that he _knows_. The doors haven’t slid closed behind them two seconds before she turns to Cara. “See? He might’ve walked by.”

“I would’ve finished you in time,” Cara assures her, smirking.

Kahlan hates that she’s right.

“Wait, what about your book?”

“We have to…I forgot the name of it,” Kahlan admits.

 **  
_3rd._   
**

Cara’s tan arm comes slicing out of the water, smacking the edge of the pool with an echoing wet slap, her head popping up through the waves a moment later. She opens her eyes without wiping them, gazing out against the chlorine haze and looking for any sign of Kahlan in the lane beside her. Her brunette head frantically pops up about three seconds later, grabbing for purchase on the slippery ledge. Cara watches her pull in a deep breath, treading water and blinking furiously as she pushes her hair off of her face. When they lock eyes finally, Kahlan groans at the sight of the blonde resting cockily against the side of the empty pool, clearly the winner of their impromptu little race.

Kahlan thinks she wears victory like a second skin.

“Not bad for an amateur,” Cara drawls, shaking a hand through her wet blonde hair.

Kahlan gives her an exasperated look from under her lashes and promptly submerges herself to swim under the line of buoys, heading out of the lanes and toward the open, free swim area of the pool. Cara watches her go, waiting until she resurfaces before she sets off after her, cleanly stroking through water. When she emerges, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes, she catches sight of a devious looking Kahlan a few feet away, treading water and waiting for her in the middle. As Kahlan leans back in the water, idly floating her body on the surface, Cara is glad that she finally gave in and bought the white bikini she’d been coveting for weeks—she had tried it on enough times, not that Cara ever minded watching—no matter its inefficiency in cutting through water compared to her red one piece.

She cautiously swims nearer, drifting closer until they are practically face to face. When she hears someone jump into one of the swimming lanes to her back, Kahlan takes advantage of the momentary distraction to cup a handful of water and throw it, splashing Cara right in the face.

Kahlan hardly has time to pull her arm back and laugh before she finds her wrist captured by the blonde, so smooth in the water that Kahlan didn’t even detect movement until she was being yanked forward. Her body quickly sinks under the surface, her knees bumping into Cara clumsily as she tries to stay afloat, still grinning, and coughs as water surges up into her mouth from the sudden jerk.

“Such a sore loser,” Cara smirks, not letting go of Kahlan’s wrist. A little water landed in her eyes from Kahlan’s splash, but she can hardly find it in herself to care. Having the brunette at her mercy, half naked and soaking wet, is not something she is apt to complain about. Instead of exacting her revenge in equal fashion, Cara treads water with her legs and spreads the palm of her free hand across Kahlan’s rib cage, fingers resting just shy of her white bikini top. Her heart is still beating quickly in her chest from their race, and she feels it pick up speed as Kahlan’s tongue peeks out from between her lips to lap at the water clinging there.

That flash of tongue coupled with an accidental bump of Kahlan’s kicking thigh under the water is all the encouragement Cara needs as she swoops forward to seize Kahlan’s mouth like a sea hawk capturing easy prey. Kahlan’s lips part under hers in surprise, the hand caught at the wrist grasping at Cara’s arm in a reverse clutch, holding onto the only solid thing she can reach.

“What are you doing?” Kahlan whispers as Cara leans back only far enough to extend her tongue toward Kahlan’s mouth, licking at the water still clinging to the side of her lip. Kahlan is fully aware of how physical Cara can be after her swim practices or meets, but they have never done this in the middle of the university pool, much less with any amount of audience. She can see someone swimming laps in the lanes, over Cara’s shoulder.

“You had some water, just there.” Cara smooths her thumb over the place she licked, and Kahlan feels her skin tingling in its wake.

Cara watches as Kahlan holds her gaze with blue eyes, breathless and still treading water, searching for a moment before she flicks her attention down to Cara’s mouth. The blonde is waiting for permission, any kind of notion that Kahlan wants this to keep going as badly as Cara wants to go. When she feels Kahlan’s foot on her calf, tentatively hooking itself around her firm muscle, it’s just the gesture she’s been waiting for.

Sliding her hand from its place near Kahlan’s mouth, Cara cups the back of Kahlan’s head, bringing her forward just enough for their lips to meet in a series of kisses so fleeting that their lips barely touch with each press. Teasing Kahlan is one of Cara’s favorite pastimes, and the way the brunette is subtly trying to slide their limbs against each other with each kiss assures her that she’s won another victory here.

Kahlan feels dizzy as she allows Cara to nip and pull at her lips, the sudden fog of lust taking up residence in every area of her brain that is trying to remind her that they are very much _not_ alone in the pool. Her body is telling her to lean into Cara’s touch, to kiss harder, _faster_ , probe deeper, but just as she reaches her hands to grasp Cara and pull her closer, Kahlan suddenly feels water lapping at her chin, threatening to spill up and into her open mouth. She has long known that kissing Cara could be dangerous, but the risk of drowning is something new. She reaches out for one of Cara’s arms, desperate for some kind of stability in the fluid water.

Cara groans as she feels Kahlan’s blunt fingernails dig into the water softened skin of her forearm, pulling her mouth away gently. Kahlan has drifted so closely now that there is not a moment when their skin is not bumping together, that their limbs are not searching for purchase in a seemingly endless amount of now churning water. The middle of the deep section of the pool is not the place for where this is heading, so Cara trails her fingers lightly down Kahlan’s wrist before taking her hand and drifting backward a bit, pulling her along for the ride. Neither says a word as they make their way to the edge of the pool, to shallower water, and finally stop where it is chest deep, against the wall closest to the steps. Kahlan just looks at her, panting quietly, and when she swallows this suddenly feels like something serious.

Cara fluidly switches positions with Kahlan now that their feet are on solid ground, gently pressing her back against the concrete wall of the pool. Kahlan’s toes curl when Cara wastes no time pressing their lips together, for a real kiss, and leans her body flush against Kahlan’s own. The temptation, the pressure too close, is too much for Kahlan to resist, and she lets her legs float up in the water to wrap themselves securely around Cara’s middle, finally connecting with more than a fleeting brush of skin. Kahlan arches forward sharply as she feels one of Cara’s hands cup her backside through her bathing suit, encouraging her to roll her hips forward for a little bit of the friction she has been craving. She throws her arms around Cara’s neck, letting Cara support her against the wall, and when Cara flexes her stomach against her center, Kahlan squeezes her eyes shut at the agonizingly perfect sensation.

Cara pulls kiss after kiss from her now swollen lips, licking against teeth and cheeks and _tongue_ as Kahlan rocks herself deliciously, languidly, against the tense muscles that Cara is giving her. Her hands are everywhere at once on Kahlan’s overheated skin, and it is only when she starts to feel vaguely light headed from the contact that Kahlan can bear to disentangle their mouths.

Cara does not let Kahlan’s momentary departure give her pause; she sucks a hot trail down her bobbing throat as Kahlan lets her head fall back a little, against the edge of the pool deck, breathing deeply. All she can think about is how she feels pleasure with every breath Cara takes against her, how good it feels when Cara nips at her neck, how noises want to leave her throat when Cara rubs at her just so. She has decided that she could float like this forever when she lets her eyes blink open and sees almost every member of Cara’s swim team staring interestedly in their direction from the entrance to the cavernous pool room. Kahlan squeaks as she grabs for Cara’s head, pulling on her wet hair to try and get her to stop.

It takes a few tugs and Kahlan’s legs releasing their grip from around her waist for Cara to finally raise her head enough to ask, “ _What?_ ” The word has barely slipped past her lips when she catches sight of her leering teammates.

Kahlan wriggles against the side of the pool, trying to break free from their compromising position without completely ruining her bathing suit against the rough wall at her back. Though Cara has removed her mouth from her body, she does not move another muscle.

“Don’t let us interrupt you,” one of Cara’s teammates calls out as they all start filing into the room to throw their gym bags onto the bleachers. Motion in the far side of pool reminds her that the stranger swimming laps has not left, either. Kahlan lets her head fall forward against Cara’s shoulder, hiding her burning face from view.

“ _Ugh_ ,” she mumbles, clearly embarrassed and more than a little bit frustrated.

Cara runs a hand soothingly up and down Kahlan’s thigh, giving her team a glare over Kahlan’s shoulder that could melt ice. She does _not_ like leaving things unfinished, especially when one of those things is the woman still pressed between her legs. She makes a decision as soon as she feels Kahlan’s leg muscles start clenching underneath her calming touch, and pulls back just enough to whisper into Kahlan’s ear. “Come on.”

Her face, flushed pink, pops up quickly to try and discern Cara’s intent, but the blonde’s intense stare is not one that she can so easily read. Too embarrassed to argue, she lets Cara lead her up the steps and past the bleachers, right into the open doorway of the girl’s locker room. No matter her intent, Kahlan is glad to be away from the knowing glances of Cara’s friends.

“Cara, I can’t believe I let you—”

She interrupts herself with a gasp as she is suddenly pulled around an aisle of lockers and nearly _shoved_ into the cold metal surface of their doors. The sound of her body connecting sends a clanging noise echoing around the room, making her glance self consciously in the direction of the locker room entrance. They are far enough into the room that Kahlan can no longer see it, but that does not detract from her acute awareness that it is _there_ , that there is no door to be closed for privacy, and that there are at least nine girls only feet away outside, completely aware of what she and Cara were just doing in the pool.

Cara reaches up to drag Kahlan’s gaze back to her own face, forcing her concentration away from those who might be listening, and Kahlan wonders if her eyes look as wild as Cara’s. “Forget about them,” Cara says, leaning her entire wet body against Kahlan’s straining one, torturing Kahlan with her proximity.

The sight of Cara’s red one piece pressed so closely to her own white bikini makes Kahlan sigh with want and press forward against her better judgment. She had been closer than she realized in the pool, and the temptation to let Cara finish her is one she is not entirely sure she can resist this time. “Just…” Kahlan starts, as if to place limits on this quickly escalating situation, but Cara cuts her off with a firm press of her lips and a palm trailing downward across her bare stomach. Goosebumps ripple across Kahlan’s skin at the drag of fingers, making her shiver.

After coaxing one last kiss from Kahlan’s lips, Cara follows her right hand downward, dropping roughly to her knees on the hard floor. They will likely bruise, but as she presses her lips to Kahlan’s sex through her bathing suit and Kahlan sucks in a sharp breath, she can’t bring herself to care. Cara's open hand slides across the front of her bikini bottom, teasing with a touch not firm enough to do anything but make her want for more, before her mouth moves up over Kahlan’s bare stomach, tonguing the light freckles scattered there like a hidden treasure map. She can feel Kahlan straining against her as she finally reaches her hands to Kahlan’s hips, finding the strings there and giving them a light tug. She never gets tired of this part, but as she leans back, she glances up to Kahlan, who is watching her intensely, as breathless as Cara had ever seen her. It isn’t until Kahlan looks ready to pull the strings herself that Cara finally does so, and the white piece falls to the floor. She is bare before Cara, exposed and fairly trembling with want, and Cara very nearly gives in.

Kahlan’s heart is pounding as she peeks at the top of Cara’s head through her lashes, the sight sending another jolt straight between her legs. She wants to reach for Cara’s head, wants to push her hips forward, wants to _beg_ , but she cannot make her body do anything as she feels Cara’s teeth nip at the soft skin on the inside of her thigh, marking it lightly before sucking it into her mouth. Her mouth is moving against the sensitive skin in all the ways she wishes Cara would touch _other_ parts of her body, making her squeeze her eyes shut in anticipation.

The second Cara finally lets her tongue flick out to that place between her legs, exactly where she needs it, Kahlan finds herself desperately trying to dig her nails into the hard metal of the lockers behind her. Finding them woefully unforgiving, Kahlan suddenly slams her open palm against a door, wincing as she hears the sharp clang bounce around the room and echo loudly enough to be heard by anyone who might be listening.

And she knows _exactly_ who is listening.

Cara laughs against her heated skin, amused by how completely _undone_ Kahlan is becoming. It’s not often that she gets to see the brunette out of control, wild. Just as Kahlan stills, and Cara thinks she has regained a shred of control over herself, she hums right against Kahlan’s clit, scraping her teeth across it just barely as an afterthought. Instead of assaulting the lockers again, Kahlan threads a grasping hand into Cara’s hair, fisting it tightly and pushing her head harder between her legs, seemingly done with trying to keep her cool. To get a better angle, Cara reaches under Kahlan’s left thigh, hooking her arm around it to settle it over her right shoulder, making Kahlan arch forward on instinct. All Cara can taste is pool water and _Kahlan_ on her tongue as she leans back in, licking over the length of her sex, closing her eyes at the heat rolling off of her. Once she has Kahlan fairly squirming against her, Cara obeys her body and presses her tongue hard against her clit before taking it between her lips. She teases Kahlan, nibbling and tonguing her there in all the ways that she knows will drive her over the edge.

It’s an embarrassingly short amount of time before Kahlan is uncontrollably pressing Cara closer between her legs with the heel slung over her back, rocking her hips forward against Cara’s face with abandon. She cannot keep still as she feels heat coiling in her belly, so _so_ close to consuming her completely.

Cara reaches a hand up to slide underneath Kahlan’s bikini top, grasping at the sorely neglected flesh hidden there as her mouth continues its work. The added pressure seems to be exactly what Kahlan needs, because Cara feels a surge of wetness against her chin as Kahlan’s hips finally arch up and off the lockers completely, tensing perfectly against Cara’s still moving lips. She doesn’t stop until Kahlan starts chanting her name, tugging her still damp hair to try and lift her from her kneeling position on the floor. Her knees protest loudly as she stands, but she ignores the throbbing ache in favor of brushing away the hair that has fallen in front of Kahlan’s eyes.

“Hey,” she says cautiously, unsure of how Kahlan will react now that the haze of lust has been somewhat lifted. Cara lets out a soft sigh of relief as Kahlan’s face breaks out into a shy smile.

“ _Hey_ ,” Kahlan whispers. Kissing Cara softly leaves her with the taste of her own flavor on her lips and a certain boldness, motivating her to smoothly fit a hand between their bodies. She slides her fingers over the full curves of Cara’s chest, passing over damp, red fabric, before cupping the heat between her legs. Kahlan feels the other woman suck in a breath as she rubs firmly, feeling wetness that has nothing to do with the pool.

“Mm, Kahlan,” she groans, stilling the brunette’s hand with one of her own and pulling it off of her body. “Swim practice.” Her expression is regretful as she takes a step back, giving Kahlan’s flushed body one last leisurely look before picking up the bottom of her bathing suit and motioning to her. They tie it back quickly, together, now aware of how easy it would be for someone to walk into the locker room and come upon them.

Resettling the scrap of white fabric across Kahlan’s lower half takes only a moment, and Cara places a soft, lingering kiss just below her belly button before standing up to her full height. Jumping into a pool of cold water is probably the _only_ thing that sounds appealing about swim practice right now.

“Are you sure?” Kahlan asks, giving her a strangely focused look. “I can be fast and you know it.”

A voice echoes through the room, belonging to neither of them, as one of Cara’s teammates shouts from the doorway. “Cara, are you guys done? We’re waiting on you!”

Cara gives Kahlan an apologetic look. “Yeah,” she shouts back. “Be there in a sec.”

Kahlan gives her a lopsided smile as the blonde takes two steps backward in the direction of the door, holding eye contact until she has to turn to avoid bumping into any benches. “Good luck at practice,” she says softly, clearing her throat as her voice comes out lower than she intended. Cara smirks at its gravelly tone.

“Later?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

With one last heated glance, Cara is gone in a flash of red swimsuit, leaving Kahlan alone, still catching her breath, against the lockers at her back. She pushes herself off of them slowly, and her stomach twists into a knot when she realizes she doesn’t have any of her stuff in the locker room with her. No towel, no change of clothes, and even less of a desire to walk out onto the pool deck immediately after Cara to retrieve her belongings among the knowing smirks of her less than subtle teammates. Kahlan combs fingers through her wet hair, taking a walk around the small locker room to look for any kind of back door or hallway that leads to somewhere _not_ currently occupied by other people. Luck is not on her side as she finds only a row of showers and even more lockers in the back of the room.

The doorway to the pool is the only way out.

 _Perfect._

(It takes Kahlan approximately 23 minutes to leave the locker room.)

 **  
_Home._   
**

If the soft moan from the speakers hadn’t woken Cara, the following catcall would have.

She has been dragged to a movie night in the commons room of her own dorm, and while Cara insisted she knew her floor every bit as well as she wanted to—virtually not at all—Kahlan would hear none of it. It is the blockbuster from last summer, and like all such scenes in all such movies, it fades to black far too soon for Cara’s tastes. She sighs her disapproval and shifts on the comfortable couch, letting her eyelids do what they will in the darkened room.

If Kahlan didn’t know her as well she does, she would have missed it. But she was quite aware of the hand around her shoulder tightening slightly as the blonde perked up, then loosening as soon as the bared skin on the screen gave way to other things. Kahlan is hardly surprised as she relaxes against the armrest, allowing herself a small smile as she glances around the other couches and chairs. A few people had the same idea she did; she is not the only one in the room with an arm around her back.

She idly smooths the oversized blanket bunched over their laps, and it is a testament to Cara’s drowsiness that she draws her legs up on the couch, under the blanket, and very nearly nestles herself closer to the brunette. Kahlan's smile widens a little as she moves to reach her own arm around Cara, but then gets a different idea that is both better and far, far worse. If the blonde was left unsatisfied with the movie’s ability to turn her on, Kahlan could fix that. It is very much something Cara would do to her.

Cara has barely drifted off again when she feels a hesitant hand on her leg, on bare skin, and she blinks herself awake as it slowly travels near her inner thigh. Kahlan meets her glance with only her eyes, and it is obvious the brunette is biting back a smile that’s a little nervous but not at all innocent. Cara’s eyes widen and, never one to interrupt a good thing in the making, she simply swings her gaze back to the screen to stare unseeing, and waits.

When Kahlan’s hand seems content, or maybe frozen, unmoving under the blanket, Cara pointedly twitches muscle under her palm, and a sharper breath beside her is the only indication that Kahlan nearly jumped out of her skin. Cara lets her lips curl into a soft smirk as she bunches up the blanket over their laps, providing more cover. It is as much of an invitation as she can make it.

Kahlan’s hand resumes its journey shortly, and after a brief rest on bare skin above her denim shorts, begins to slip under them. She lightly considers teasing Cara through the thin fabric of her underwear, but something is making her want to _touch_ Cara. As Cara takes in her breath a little, making room for her, Kahlan slides under them instead, past the trimmed, narrow strip of coarseness, feeling smooth and gloriously hot flesh against her palm as she cups her hand there. It is the precursor to more obvious arousal, and Kahlan feels her own heart quicken with anticipation in turn.

Cara sits, as calmly as she can with Kahlan’s still hand between her legs, and squeezes her shoulder when she feels the brunette has been given enough time to _think_ about things. She is rewarded with movement, friction, and relaxes her body a little, but nearly groans aloud when Kahlan slowly begins to pull her hand away. Cara risks a glance, and while Kahlan’s cheeks are noticeably dark, she doesn’t remove her hand completely. Instead Cara feels fingers begin to work on the buttons of her shorts, and suddenly she can’t help but feel a little proud and significantly more turned on.

Kahlan fumbles one-handed with her task, staring all the while at the people around them. While the room is dark, there is just enough light from the connecting halls and screen in front of them to see that most of their company is well-occupied, either by the movie, a cellphone, or quiet conversation with significant others and friends. They are alone enough here in their corner of the couch, with no eyes on them, but Kahlan still can’t help feeling _watched_. She decides that if it doesn’t bother Cara, it won’t bother her.

When Kahlan’s hand finally finds its way back where Cara wants it, this time freer to do as it wishes, Cara is flushed with want of the contact, and her fingers dig into Kahlan’s arm in lieu of something more noticeable. She feels Kahlan begin stroking fingers over the length of her sex, and as her arousal heightens Cara barely notices that she seems rather afraid of moving the rest of her arm whatsoever. When she happens to catch a stranger’s eye she promptly stares him down, trying to keep her breathing steady as Kahlan works, until he looks away.

The blanket is revealing nothing of their actions, and Kahlan is sure of this because she checks every two seconds. Cara is growing wet and somehow hotter as Kahlan caresses her there, and it is not long before the blonde rearranges herself a little, sitting with her legs apart to better allow her access. The message is clear, and Kahlan is soon making use of the ample room to spread her open a little, stroking her inner folds with her middle finger. She is rewarded in turn with a tighter hand on her shoulder, and while Kahlan knows she could soon bring her to orgasm with a little attention to the right place, she decides it would be an opportunity lost.

She teases Cara’s opening with a fingertip, giving her just enough to want more, and smiles when Cara tenses beside her. She’s aching for it and Kahlan is aching to give it to her, but she knows denial, no matter how temporary, only ever furthers the blonde’s arousal. So Kahlan pulls out, running two fingers up and down hot and slippery flesh, gradually slowing. When she stops her movement completely, still as a stone, it doesn’t take long for Cara to look at her, eyes wide, and they are every bit as dark as Kahlan thought they would be—arousal and lack of light both contributing.

But Cara’s brow is also furrowed, and Kahlan can see her trying to figure out why in the world she has _stopped_. She makes it up for it with a few apologetic and soothing strokes with a thumb circling her clit, and after Kahlan subtly jerks her head at the screen, Cara obeys, looking away, her eyelids fluttering. This time Kahlan doesn’t tease; her two middle fingers slide down, curling as they dip fully into wetness and begin moving slowly inside her, and a rough but quiet exhale beside her has Kahlan in sudden appreciation of her restraint. The blonde is normally a very physical lover; she is fond of bucking her hips, whether into Kahlan’s hand or against her mouth, and Kahlan’s hope that she won’t alert the entire room to her climax is strengthened.

It is not exactly easy for Cara to keep still—not when Kahlan is holding back so much, not when all Cara wants to do is ride her hand hard until she finishes. She is in the middle of remembering such a time when Kahlan gives her another finger and quickens her pace a little, and her palm gives perfect pressure and friction as her hand moves. Cara’s breath catches and the knowledge that Kahlan is doing this for her, bringing her pleasure in such surroundings, makes her blood run that much hotter.

Kahlan can’t go any faster for risk of noise; she’s doing everything she can as she sinks three fingers into Cara palm deep, over and over, and tries to give her contact where she needs it. The rest is up to Cara, but Kahlan doesn’t have to wait long. When Cara suddenly clutches at her shoulder, as tight as any death grip, Kahlan looks to her, watching her lips part in anticipation of her own release. And when she comes, it is in utter silence, her sex clenching around Kahlan’s fingers and her jaw visibly tight, with no other indication of her pleasure. Kahlan keeps moving inside of her, gently now, drawing out her orgasm as her inner muscles spasm, until she finally stills. A long and quiet exhale follows, and she melts against Kahlan, tilting her head back on the couch and staring at the ceiling.

Kahlan removes her fingers from heat and slickness, and huffs a little when Cara squeezes her thighs as if to keep her hand there forever. Cara rolls her head a little to look at her, appearing nothing if not well-sexed, and whispers, “You.”

At first she thinks it is in thanks, or appreciation, but when Cara smirks at her, Kahlan suddenly realizes that she intends to repay the favor. When her arm meaningfully leaves Kahlan’s back, Kahlan wastes no time drawing her legs to her chest, tightly wrapping her arms around them, and staring fixedly at the movie. She would be completely lost but she’s seen it before, and she knows there isn’t much time left at all. Not enough for what Cara wants to do—even if her own arousal has the head start that it does. She regrets not thinking this far ahead; maybe she should have made Cara come sooner.

But Cara is never one to back down from a challenge, and after teasing the elastic waist of Kahlan’s shorts, she slips a hand under them at her side, palming the naked skin of her hip and as much of her backside as she can reach. When she slides her hand a little farther around Kahlan’s thigh, her fingertips find wetness between her legs and Kahlan sighs, sitting back as if she has been discovered. Cara knows she’s already given in. Still, it takes gentle coaxing to get Kahlan’s legs apart, and when the brunette dutifully spreads them a little, the look of long-suffering she gives Cara is mixed with a certain pleading. “Quick,” she whispers.

Cara nods, urging her legs down further, and Kahlan shifts to sit cross legged, half on top of her, and slips an arm around Cara’s back. She adjusts the cover of their blanket in turn, and is still sweeping her gaze carefully over their company when Cara’s hand slides straight into her shorts. A soft gasp leaves her lips against her will, because Cara is wasting _no_ time with her quick strokes, and she barely hears Cara huff softly in amusement beside her. She is slick and ready despite her near-terror of getting _caught_ , or maybe because of it, and Cara doesn’t wait long to take advantage.

When she pushes in and takes her, all Kahlan can think is that Cara is _inside_ of her, nearly in view of all these people, and the feeling of being filled by her is somehow amplified in turn. Cara strokes skillfully at her inner walls, at just the right angle, and the delicious tightness in her builds swiftly. The heel of Cara’s hand is meeting her clit with each thrust, and when Cara changes her motions, driving her fingers deeper and a little harder, the burning need in her is stoked that much more. It isn’t long before Kahlan is almost there, about to tumble over the edge, even clenching her teeth in readiness.

Lights flicker on and sheer terror grips Kahlan by the spine, almost crowding out her arousal. Credits are rolling and neither of them noticed. Kahlan can only imagine how they look—half on top of each other on the end of a couch, probably both flushed, sharing a very strategically placed blanket in their laps—but when Cara stops moving between her legs, whatever fear she felt then is vastly outdone by fear that Cara will suddenly do the honorable thing and leave her unfinished.

Carefully, gently, Kahlan thrusts her hips up a little, against Cara’s fingers still inside her, and clutches meaningfully at Cara’s side—less of an invitation and more of a desperate plea. A few people are standing and talking around them—one girl has her back to them three feet away—and Cara turns to look her full in the face as her fingers resume their deep strokes into her, slower now with the increased risk. “Good movie,” she says casually.

Kahlan is staring at her, blinking in the sudden light as her eyes flick between Cara’s own, and the ample heat Cara feels between her legs is echoed in her expression. “Yeah,” Kahlan says quietly, her voice more than a little strained. Her gaze drops to Cara’s lips, and when Kahlan whispers her name, Cara knows she is nearly undone.

She leans in as her hand works, as if to whisper something to her, and Kahlan expects a teasing comment or maybe a husky request for her to finish. Instead Cara kisses her in that place just under her ear, the place that Cara _knows_ does certain things to her, and presses hard against her clit as she curls her fingers. The tightness bursts and she comes, all in a heady rush, her arm tightening around Cara, barely able to keep her silence. Her body is washed in heat as Cara pulls her climax from her, and although her back wants to arch, her legs want to stretch and her toes curl, Cara furtively holds her still, serving as her anchor until she finishes.

When it’s over, both far too soon and not soon enough, she becomes aware of the hum of conversation all around them. There is no pleasurable afterglow, only raw embarrassment, and she buries her head in Cara’s neck, loosing a shaky sigh as she pulls the blanket up a little. “Cara,” she groans.

“Nobody noticed,” Cara whispers, almost soothingly, as she slowly pulls her hand free from between Kahlan’s thighs. “Look around. See?”

Kahlan sighs once more at the loss of her, sitting back to cast her gaze over the room. There are no knowing glances or narrowing eyes from the people sitting or milling about, and the expression on Cara’s face, that of utter satisfaction, is such that Kahlan can’t help the slow smile growing on her own. She suddenly feels conspiratorial, as if they just got away with a crime of some sort and no one is the wiser.

Cara’s sudden cough surprises her, even more when it continues, and her brow furrows with concern as she turns to her. But then the blonde brings her hand to her mouth, presumably to cover it, and there is a flash of pink tongue as she discreetly licks at her fingers.

Kahlan nearly dies.


End file.
